Just Be Yourself
by AnimeFan202
Summary: Do not be swayed by the summary! This IS a Taiora story! It's Tai's duty as Sora's best friend to help her with her relationship with Matt, right? Emotions run high as simplicity vanishes...
1. Chapter 1

**Well, if I'd planned on doing another Digimon story it definitely wasn't going to be this soon, but I got the idea so... here we go...**

**Chapter One (sorta kinda prologue)**

Tai Kamiya sat in his best friend's bedroom, waiting for her to return. Some would question that it was alright for him to be in a girl's bedroom at fifteen, or the fact that his best friend was a girl. But this was all normal to the two of them. After all, Tai and Sora had been best friends for as long as either of them could remember. Sora's room was almost as familiar to him as his own. Just then, Sora came back from her mothers room, a purple necklace around her neck.

"How's it look?" she asked, fiddling with it a bit nervously.

For a moment, Tai could only stare. He couldn't remember Sora ever wearing a necklace before, apart from her crest, and that was infinitely different. And he knew that, had she had her ears pierced, Sora would've found earrings as well. Frankly, it creeped him out.

Where was his best friend? The one who'd been a tomboy since she could walk? Probably before then, even. But, as he remained silent, Sora started looking at him sort of funny. So he finally blurted out, "It looks great."

And it did look great. Amazing actually. He just wished she weren't wearing it.

Sora smiled. Who knew being honest could hurt so much? She sat down on her bed and began brushing her hair... again. Sora didn't have a vanity table because before today she never would've used it.

Tai looked her over once more. Another thing he was unused to. Sora was wearing a skirt. Who knew the day would come? He was fairly sure that it didn't even belong to her. Tai was almost certain that she'd borrowed it from Mimi.

Sora jumped up when she heard a car horn sound and her hair seemed to float back down. Not that there was much to float down, but after brushing it so many times, it did look a bit longer. Sora was absolutely glowing. She looked stunning, but Tai wished it wasn't so. Sora looked out the window and then beamed at Tai.

"Thanks, Tai. He's here. I'll see you later." Sora rushed out of her room without giving the fact that she'd left Tai there without a second thought.

Tai got up and went to the window himself. He watched with a sinking heart as Matt opened her door for her even though his dad was driving because Matt had yet to get his license.

Yes, that's right. Tai Kamiya had just helped Sora prepare for her first date with Matt. The big question, and the one running through Tai's mind was, how had this happened?

**Review please!**

**Okay, so all the reviews sort of inspired me to write another Taiora story, I just didn't think I'd get the first chapter up so fast...**

**I don't own Digimon. And this has no relation at all to the other story.**

_**Revised as of 7/16/13**_

_**God, I know I should be working on the Digimon story I have up right now, but I really wanted to revise this one... It's something I've been meaning to do for a while.**_


	2. Chapter 2

**JUST BE YOURSELF**

**CHAPTER TWO**

Izzy and Joe glanced worriedly at Tai then back to each other. He was just sitting by the window, staring despondently out at the street. The three boys were in Izzy's apartment, which was near silent what with his parents being absent and the growing awkwardness of the situation.

"What do you think is wrong with him?" whispered Joe.

"I don't know," Izzy whispered back. "I thought it was weird when he actually agreed to work on homework with us..."

Joe and Izzy had finished their work. Not surprisingly, Tai was the only one who hadn't gotten anything done. They hadn't really expected him to show up and conform to their level of studiousness. But they hadn't expected him to be sulking either.

Joe gave Izzy a look that said, _you're his best friend._

Izzy gave him a look that was about the equivalent to: _screw you._

But, because he was Tai's best friend, Izzy spoke up, "Tai? What's going on?"

Tai didn't answer for a while. Izzy was about to repeat the question when Tai looked at him and grumbled, "Matt's on a date with Sora."

This was news to the other boys. They exchanged a glance. Knowing what was wrong had made the situation any less awkward or any easier for that matter. But they could be grateful for one thing; at least Tai wasn't the type to hold back and pretend nothing was wrong.

"You mean... l-like a _date_ date?" Joe stammered.

"Of course!" Tai snapped. "What other kind is there?"

There was silence for a moment. There was a sort of code to being a friend and Matt had just seriously broken it. The only possible way to make this worse would be if _Izzy_ had been going out with Sora. And they could both see that. They knew Tai could see that, even if he was refusing to acknowledge it for Sora's sake.

Almost silently, Izzy rose from his seat on the floor and left the room. Joe did the same. Tai didn't even seem to notice. Yet, as out of it as their friend seemed to be, Izzy and Joe seemed to find it appropriate to continue whispering.

"What are we gonna do?" Joe hissed, nearly hysterical.

Izzy shrugged. "I mean, there isn't really anything we can do. It's Sora's choice."

"How can you sound so calm about this?!"

"Relax, Joe. We won't figure anything out if you can't keep your head on."

Joe took a deep, shaky breath. "You're right. I'm sorry. It's just... I really don't want it to get to the point where they're wrestling each other off cliffs again."

Izzy nodded. "Yeah. Neither do I. But what can we do?"

Joe tried to clear his head a little so he could brainstorm. At last he said, "Hmm... I think we should call TK. He's got to know something."

Izzy nodded again. "I agree. And after we should get in touch with Kari. Get her to watch Tai and make sure he doesn't do anything stupid."

"All right. I'll call TK."

"I'd better do it. You go back in and distract Tai. Get him to do his homework or something."

"But he always needs help," Joe complained. "And you're smarter."

"He never understands a word I say though."

Joe sighed. "Fine. You call TK. I'll help Tai."

Izzy grinned. _Point for me. _Joe and Izzy got along surprisingly well. Neither of them had wanted to see the Digidestined fall apart after returning to Earth, and they had a lot in common. They were the most levelheaded of the group. Other than Sora, of course. Well, up until now...

_What are you thinking, Sora? _Izzy thought. _How can you go out with one of his best friends when it's this obvious that Tai's so into you?_

"Hello?"

"Hi. TK, this is Izzy." Maybe it was just him, but TK seemed a little nervous, like he knew what Izzy was calling about. On second thought... he probably did.

"Yeah, I know... it came up on caller ID. So what's up?"

"I don't mean to pry, but what do you know about Sora and Matt?" The silence that followed confirmed Izzy's suspicion. Izzy, who was ignoring the fact that he most certainly _was_ prying. He couldn't take the time to consider that he was going behind Matt's back about this just yet. He had to focus on helping Tai. Because Matt's focus was clearly elsewhere.

"Izzy," TK finally answered, "with all due respect, it's none of your business."

He frowned in frustration. "TK, I just-"

"Please don't do this to Matt," TK cut in.

And now the injustice of it all and the irony of TK's words were getting to him. He demanded, "How could your brother do this to his best friend?"

Izzy's voice was louder than he'd intended it to be. There was a slight pause in Joe's explanation to Tai which he could hear in the background. Izzy didn't like to admit it, but it seemed that at times he and Matt were on the brink of an all-out-war to see who was Tai's actual best friend. It was foolish and childish, and Tai wasn't the type to pick favorites, but, though he hated to admit it, Izzy often burned with jealousy when they were all together. Matt attracted others to him so easily, and before Tai, Izzy had never really had a true friend before. He'd had a computer.

There was another pause on the other end of the line, and then TK hung up on him. Izzy tried to keep up a neutral facade, but it still sounded like he was storming back to his bedroom.

Well, he had his answer. _He _would never do that to Tai.

**Review please!**

**I know... I'm awful... I haven't updated anything in forever. :(**

**Be grateful! I'm neglecting my French project to post this.**

**I don't own Digimon.**

_**Revised as of 7/16/13**_


	3. Chapter 3

**JUST BE YOURSELF**

**CHAPTER 3**

Tai would be the first one to admit that he was moping. He knew he was scaring two of his best friends, but at the time he had too much on his mind to care.

Tai tried to tell himself he didn't want Sora back, but it was a pathetic lie. _Not really, _he told himself. _I don't want Sora back, I want _my_ Sora back._

He had to admit that she had changed quite a bit since hanging out with Matt. Since when was Sora interested in tennis? She was a soccer player!

No one had heard a single complaint about Sora having to wear the skirt that went along with their high school uniform. The old Sora would've been fighting it all the way. And the way she'd dressed up on a weekend, when it wasn't required... it just made Tai sick to his stomach. He felt stupid. He felt a little bit possessive. But he also felt that, whatever this was, it wasn't right. Even if he wasn't necessarily right either.

What had happened to her?

**...**

"I'll see you tomorrow," Sora said after Matt had kissed her goodbye. It had been a friendly kiss, not exactly what she'd expected from her first date with her first boyfriend. But then, his dad had been watching... Now she was the one to watch as Matt smiled at her, got in the car, and they drove away.

As expected, Biyomon was waiting for her in her bedroom. "So how was it?" she asked expectantly as soon as Sora plopped down on her bed.

"It was awesome. Matt's such a sweet guy!" And this was true. Dinner had been nice. They'd gotten along well. But then, they'd always gotten along well. And it had been forefront in her mind all evening that this had been a date, but... She wasn't sure it felt like a date. Then again, what did a date feel like? Her head was starting to spin with all the confusion.

"But something's not right," Biyomon concluded. Sora rolled over so that she was facing the wall, suddenly moody. "Sora, what's wrong? You know you can talk to me."

"I know," she mumbled. "It's just... sometimes I feel so bad. Matt is awesome, but..."

"Tai?"

"Yeah. It just isn't right. I mean... I knew Tai was in love with me and I still agreed to go out with his best friend. I mean, I basically broke the number one rule of being a good friend! And Tai's been so nice about it. I mean," she continued, "I was in love with Tai once. How would I have felt if he'd decided to go out with Mimi when I was so obviously in love with him?"

Biyomon shuddered. "Tai and Mimi? That's one scary couple..."

Sora giggled. She could always count on Biyo to cheer her up. Even if she had answered none of Sora's questions and done nothing to clear up the mounting confusion.

**...**

Izzy was still in the kitchen, this time dialing the Kamiya residence. The call with TK had not been all he was hoping for. But if there was one person he could count on to stick up for Tai, it was Kari.

"Hello?" answered Tai's mom.

"Hi. Mrs. Kamiya? This is Izzy."

"Izzy?" She seemed confused. "Wasn't Tai going over your house today?"

"Yes. He's here," answered Izzy, glancing almost nervously behind him where Joe was still keeping their friend occupied in the other room. And by 'occupied', he totally meant distracted. "Actually, I wanted to talk to Kari."

"Oh... Okay. Kari! Telephone!"

A minute later Kari was on the other end. "Hello?"

"Hey." His response hung in the air, a little awkward, even to his own ears. Luckily, Kari didn't seem to notice. That or she'd just grown used to Izzy's poor social skills.

"Oh. Hi, Izzy. What's up?"

"Um, it's about Tai," he began.

"Is he okay?"

Silently, Izzy cheered. This was going in the right direction already. "Actually, that's what I wanted to ask you. How do you think he's been doing?"

"Well, about as good as he can be doing after just getting his heartbroken by one of his best friends." Straight to the point. That was something he'd always liked about Tai's sister. It wasn't like with Mimi where you could talk for an hour just trying to get one answer out of her. In fact, Kari's voice sounded a little bitter, even. Inwardly, the boy cringed. He hated the feeling that they were all being torn apart by one bad decision. But he had to stay focused. They were doing this for Tai, he reminded himself.

"Could you do us a favor?" Izzy asked. "Just keep an eye on him for us."

"Already on it," Kari answered cheerfully. She was holding up pretty well herself. She and Sora had been really close. It had to be hard having one of _her_ best friends break her brother's heart.

Izzy smiled. "Thanks."

"I'll see you around, I guess. Bye."

"Bye." Izzy hung up. It was a good thing the Digidestined had always been so close. It helped when he didn't have to explain just why they were watching out for someone. Izzy was determined. He was not going to let one relationship break up the team.

Tai, grumbling, books in hand, walked out of Izzy's room and left the apartment before Izzy could call out to him. Joe emerged a second later, almost as huffy as Tai.

"What happened?" Izzy inquired.

"I told him how to do the problem and he insisted on doing it his way. Well, if he isn't going to _do_ it right he isn't going to _get_ it right!"

Izzy couldn't help but smile._ Figures_...

It appeared, however, that he and Joe were not the same page as much as Izzy had thought because a second later he said, "Look, Izzy. I'm not so sure about this anymore."

"Why not?" He tried to stay patient. It wasn't uncommon for Joe to have second thoughts about... well, just about every decision he had to make.

"I know that we're trying to keep everyone together. I mean, Tai's been really distant and we don't want to start some sort of all-out war between TK and Kari, but... by breaking up Matt and Sora, and getting together Sora and Tai... aren't we basically just bringing ourselves back to this exact spot? Only with Matt in Tai's place? I mean... didn't Tai say himself that it was Sora's choice? " he finished.

Izzy had to think for a minute. What Joe said was true. They couldn't make everyone happy. However, they didn't have time to discuss it because Tai came back in at that moment. "Has anybody seen my shoes?"

Joe and Izzy may have been in the middle of a tense, almost argument, but they couldn't help their laughter. Typical Tai...

**...**

Tai's mood had actually shifted for the better. He'd begun laughing too, simply because it's good to laugh every once in a while and he hadn't done it in a while. Unfortunately, everything was about to get a lot more complicated when he got home...

His mother was waiting for him at the counter. "Did you have a good time at Izzy's?"

"Yeah. What's for dinner?" he asked, hoping it wasn't something she could massacre too badly.

"Spaghetti. By the way, Tai... does Izzy have a girlfriend?"

Tai, on the way to his room, stopped, puzzled. "No. Why?"

"Well," his mother lowered her voice conspiratorially. "He called here to talk to Kari today."

This of course was news to Tai. His mother left it at that. She was smiling in a devious match-making way. Tai was not.

No way... She couldn't seriously be suggesting that Izzy was in love with his sister!

Now, Tai knew his mother was well-known for jumping to conclusions, but his brain wasn't processing that too well right now. In fact, he felt a sudden surge of anger.

No way in hell was Izzy going to go out with his little sister.

**Review please!**

**I don't own Digimon!**

_**Revised 7/16/13 (XD I'm remembering how much fun I had writing this in the first place...) **_


	4. Chapter 4

**Okay, I know I haven't updated in forever, but I've been thinking a lot how I want this story to go. I sort of knew the details of the plot from the beginning, but I was sure until now just how I wanted to add it in. Plus there's been some issues with the site where first I couldn't upload my documents, then there was an error whenever I tried to update... *sigh* But it's over now! :)**

**Also, though I am a full-blooded Taiora fan, I don't hate Matt. He's one of my favorite characters actually. I'm hoping this story will show that.**

**JUST BE YOURSELF**

**CHAPTER FOUR**

"Why, hello, Tai." Sora's mother greeted him with a smile. "It's good to see you again."

"Nice to see you too." he greeted. "Is Sora home?"

"Yup, she's up in her room."

"Thanks." Tai said as she let him in and he headed down the hallway. Tai hesitated for a moment and then knocked on her door.

"Come in." she answered.

Tai opened the door onto Sora sitting on her bed, taking notes on one of their school-assigned books that he had yet to open, and tried to smile. "Hi."

She looked up. She seemed a little surprised. "Oh. Hey, Tai. What are you doing here?"

Tai walked into her room and sat down in the chair by her computer desk, trying to make this into a casual visit. Actually, now that he was here he couldn't remember exactly why he'd wanted to come in the first place.

He shrugged to let Sora know that he was there just to be there. It wouldn't be the first time he'd come over just to hang out.

"How was your date with Matt?" It was out of his mouth before he could stop it. But Tai was pleased at least that his subconscious had managed to cover any hint of bitterness that was in the thought.

Sora seemed to fidget a little as if she knew this would be a touchy subject. But then, why should she? If she did she wouldn't have invited him over to help her get ready. In Tai's mind that was a peace treaty of some sort. Because, though he was sure she knew she'd hurt his feelings, he couldn't believe that Sora could ever be that cruel.

"It was nice."

_It was nice? _Tai thought indignantly Surely Matt had showed her a better time than that.

_Oh, screw it. _Sora thought. This was Tai she was talking to! He could handle the details.

"It was pretty great actually," she went on, a smile breaking across her face. "We went out for lunch and then he was going to have his dad bring me home because he had practice with his band, but he let me come along and watch their rehearsal. You should come to one of their concerts sometime. They sound really good. Matt sure has come out of his shell a lot. I'd never be able to sing in front of a crowd."

_Matt? Come out of his shell? _Tai had never thought of Matt as shy. He was just sort of a private person.

He had to admit to himself that his heart was sinking a little. Sora seemed so happy. Tai would be the first to say what a great guy Matt was, but... why Matt? Of all the people Sora could have chosen to go out with...

...

Matt sighed and flopped back onto his bed. They'd had a hard rehearsal and his throat was a little sore. But that would be the last one for a little while.

For the whole next week before the concert he and the rest of his band were shifted into Zen mode. They now had to trust in their skills. It had been Andre's idea and from what Matt could tell, it worked. This way they could pour all their energy out into the performance.

Maybe he was a little biased, but Matt thought they sounded pretty damn good for a garage band.

Matt looked up when he heard someone knock on his doorframe. He didn't think his dad was home yet.

"Oh, hey TK. I didn't know you were here."

"Uh, yeah..." TK looked a little awkward standing in his doorway. Or this house actually. Usually the only times TK came over was to see Matt. It was hard to set things up with their dad because he worked such crazy hours. Therefore TK didn't see their father too much and tried to spend even less time in his house. If possible he would always try to meet his brother somewhere else.

"What's up?"

"There's something I wanted to talk to you about." his brother answered switching from foot to foot.

Matt motioned that he come in.

TK sat down, took a deep breath, and launched right in. "Matt, why did you decide to date Sora? You had to have notice Tai had a thing for her."

Matt blinked. "What brought this on all of a sudden?"

TK blushed and explained how he'd kind of blown up on Izzy that afternoon.

Matt sighed and laid back down. "Boy, do I have a lot to tell you..."

...

Sora had decided not to beat around the many, many bushes as well.

"Tai? Are you alright with me going out with Matt. I mean, really alright."

"Yeah, of course. It's fine." he answered easily, but she'd seen him hesitate.

She hurriedly mumbled out something about how she didn't want it to be awkward that she was dating his best friend.

_Really? _Tai thought. That's _why you think it's awkward?_

Meanwhile Sora was nearly screaming inside her head, _Come on Tai! Why can't you tell me it's __**not **__fine? I thought you had the crest of courage! _She felt guilty almost immediately.

That dark little voice in the back of her head whispered, Look who's talking.

...

TK left Matt a little confused and not all that sure he approved of his brother's plans.

Sure, it proved that he really was deserving of the crest of friendship, but he couldn't help but feel that, from here on out, no matter what happened, somebody was going to end up getting their heart broken.

**Review please!**

**I thank anyone who sticks with this story despite the fact that I'm so awful at updating... ^^'**

**For anyone who's confused... well, this story was meant to do that. But hey, at least I know where the plot's going now! :)**

**It shall all be explained in due time my followers... in due time...**

**I don't own Digimon!**


	5. Chapter 5

**If there are any readers that have stuck with me to see this chapter's upload, then you have no idea how grateful I am to you. **

**I understand if you haven't.**

**And I'm sorry to say that I fell past the point of excuses months ago…**

**JUST BE YOURSELF**

**CHAPTER FIVE**

Monday morning had started out as normal as it ever was. This should have been a sign that things were not going to last, but, understandably, everyone was a little preoccupied. So no one saw this as something to worry about.

Matt had been so confident about his plan the night before when he'd explained it to TK, but he was surprised at hitting his first obstacle as early as Monday morning.

He'd planned to keep the whole thing a secret, (after all, the best way to deal with a woman is to make sure she thought the entire thing was her idea to begin with) but Sora saw his moment of hesitation when she suggested they hold hands as they walk down the hallway.

Matt almost missed Tai's fuming figure as they made their way to their first period class that they, coincidentally, all three had together. Almost. Unfortunately, Sora did miss it. Not that that matttered to Tai. Whether right or wrong, his glare hadn't been directed at Sora.

Lucky for Matt, he didn't happen to sit near Tai in this class. He wouldn't be forced to endure Tai's wrath. Not yet anyway.

…

Izzy was growing increasingly worried. He seemed to be alone now as Joe was no longer sure he wanted to help devise a master break-up plan.

But that wasn't the only thing that was bothering him. Tai had been undeniably hostile towards him that morning. Now the only question was, why? Didn't Tai know he was trying to _help _him?

Izzy sighed as he got his books out of his locker after first period. Due to his schedule of mostly advanced classes, he wouldn't see Tai much during the day. He would have no chance to watch him. Normally, he would have enlisted Joe or Matt for this job, but Joe wouldn't help him, and he couldn't ask Matt or Sora for obvious reasons.

That really only left Mimi, and she could be such a gossip that Izzy wasn't really sure he wanted to go there. He was trying to do everything he could to do his job as Tai's best friend without having anyone get hurt.

It wasn't looking like it was going to turn out so well.

…

Matt's luck held until lunch. He should have known. They had this together. They did not have it with Sora.

Ever since the first day Matt and Tai had sat together. Before that weekend there had been nothing strange or awkward about that. However, things had changed. They both sensed the tension as they sat down across from one another with their trays. Unfortunately, neither had thought to sit elsewhere.

For the first few minutes the two sat in silence. Matt would look up at his friend every few seconds, hoping the Tai would say something, hoping more that they hadn't hit the point of being former friends. But Tai refused to look at him.

"How are you?" Matt finally asked.

Silently, Tai bristled at the casual tone of the words. "Fine," he snapped stiffly.

"You don't sound it," Matt muttered. He wasn't quiet enough.

Tai's head snapped up to look him in the eyes. "What would you know about not being fine, Matt?" He nearly spat out the last word. "You don't seem to be having any problems. Been getting real _friendly _with everyone. Finally living up to your crest I see."

Matt shifted. _Here we go…_ he thought.

"Listen, Tai, what's going on between Sora and me… it doesn't really concern you." He winced to himself. Words that had been so easy to rehearse weren't nearly as easy to say when faced with your fuming best friend.

"You asshole!" Tai and stood up and slammed his hands down on the table, attracting more than a couple stares. Slowly, Matt rose to join him. "It has everything to do with me!" Tai was outright screaming at him now. "Who was the one I went you first when I decided I was in love with Sora? Was it Izzy? Or Kari? No! Oh right! It was _you_! And then you just decide to ask her out on a date like that and think we'll still be cool?"

"If you were so in love with her maybe you should've _done _something about it!"

Just like the good old days… Tai yelling at him, him screaming back… Oh yes… it was all very familiar. Which was why Matt was expecting the fist when it collided with his face.

…

"What on earth were you thinking?"

Matt was nursing his bruised cheek when Sora came rushing into the nurse's office. Coincidentally, the nurse was not there. She'd gone to the principle's office to check on Tai as the adults in charge had decided it would not be the best idea to keep the two of them in the same room.

"Have you been to see Tai yet?" Maybe not the most tactful thing to say, but he wasn't exactly in the right mood for tact. The memories hadn't been quite as clear as he'd thought they were. He hadn't remembered correctly just how hard Tai could punch.

"No, and I'm not going to!" Sora huffed. "He's such a jerk sometimes! I asked him if he was okay with the two of us being together, and he said it was fine! Then he goes and pulls something like this…"

She let her words fall away, and Matt grimaced as she threw her arms around him. Nothing was going as he'd planned.

The nurse returned and left just as quickly to go care for some kid who'd sprained his ankle while playing soccer during gym class. However, to Matt's secret relief, she did have time to make sure Sora was on her way back to class before she left.

However, no sooner had the nurse left than Matt had another visitor.

"That looks terrible! _Tai_ did that?"

"Hello, Mimi," Matt sighed. There were really only two states Mimi could be in at the moment. Either untolerably cheeful as she usually was, or annoyed with him, and he wasn't really in the mood for either of them.

"I thought you said things wouldn't get this bad for a while," she reminded him, sitting down on the bed opposite him, making herself at home.

"It wasn't supposed to," he grumbled. "Any idea if Sora's gone to see Tai yet?"

"I doubt it, and maybe it's better if she doesn't for a while. Tai's going to have enough trouble at home dealing with Kari without having to catch heat from Sora this early on."

This piqued Matt's interest. "What's wrong with Kari?"

Mimi lowered her voice as if there were anyone around to hear her news besides him. "Apparently, she went up to your brother and confessed her love for him."

Matt's mouth fell open. It wasn't exactly a secret, but he hadn't expected her to do anything about it for quite some time… Like brother like sister… But apparently, Kari had proved herself more corageous than her brother.

"So… what happened?"

"Well, that all would have been fine and dandy if it wasn't for TK's girlfriend."

"_What _girlfriend?"

"Exactly."

The nurse decided to walk back in at that moment, looking considerably more annoyed.

"Oh no," she said. "This isn't some kind of social hour. Shoo," she moved towards Mimi who leaped up to leave. "Tell the rest of the girls that you can all come visit your man after school."

Inwardly, Matt groaned and buried his face in his hands. The last thing he needed was for _that _rumor to get around the school too.

Oh, the things you do for your friends…

**Review please!**

**Hope I'm not the only one who enjoyed the ending. Things are heating up on all sides…**

**I don't own Digimon. **


	6. Chapter 6

**Okay, this story isn't going to be super long, but because I'm so bad at updating, I'm sure it will go on for a while yet.**

**BUT! That's not what I wrote/typed this message to say. For anyone who's interested, I'm already planning out my next Digimon story for when this is finished. It will be Taiora, but the actual plot will revolve around something different, and, hopefully, totally original.**

**Chapter Six**

Kari arrived home to an empty household. However, she'd just had time to throw herself facedown onto her bed when her mother stormed into the apartment, a sullen Tai following a few strides behind.

Her tears ceased momentarily as she picked her head up off the comforter to listen to the latest storm.

She heard her mother slam her car keys down on the counter, slam the crock pot down on the counter, and finally, the unfortunate unidentifiable species of bird that had found its way into their freezer that morning joined the rest with a mighty thunk down on the table.

Normally, her mother was all cheer and laughter. Tai must have done something positively awful to get her into such a terrible mood. She could almost see him, leaning against the wall, sulking at whatever punishment had been handed out. It wasn't unheard of for her brother to do something catastrophic, but his disastrous moments had begun to occur less and less since returning from the digital world. Tai had matured quite a lot. So what had happened to cause such a regression?

If she strained her ears she could just make out her mother muttering certain words, including, "suspended for the next week."

Kari raised her eyebrows. Suspended? It had been an even longer time since Tai had done something stupid in school.

"Honestly, Tai! What were you thinking?" her mother finally burst out.

There was a method to surviving their mother's enraged lectures.

Until the explosion she was usually too wrapped in her own furious mumblings to pay any attention to you. Therefore, you really didn't need to pay much attention to her.

Once the explosion was underway, it really wasn't too smart to do much other than keep quiet until she was on her way to being dormant again.

Kari wasn't sure what had happened to make Tai forget this basic rule. After all, he was the one who'd taught her all the cues to look for.

"Obviously, I wasn't, was I?" he muttered sarcastically.

Kari could almost see her mother blow, but she didn't have to. She heard it instead.

"Taichi Rida Kamiya! You go to your room this second and stay there!"

It was actually a little funny listening to your high school aged brother get sent to his room like he was five. She heard him stomp off.

Normally, this would have cheered her up, but the first person Kari would have called to share in her amusement would have been TK, and this thought just dragged back down into the depths of despair.

She buried her face back into her pillow.

…

Tai grumbled to himself even after he'd slammed his door shut and flopped down on his bed. Today had royally _sucked_. There was no other way to describe it.

Dark, dark thoughts were skipping merrily through his thoughts. The type of horrible thoughts that just seem to take a hold of you and refuse to let go.

Tai would have gone through the motions of thinking through how to execute each and every one of these plans. Only one though kept stopping him.

The knowledge that Sora was probably with Matt, and there would be no way to execute such an awful plan and still save her from the wreckage.

…

Sometimes ignorance truly is bliss. For it only would have put Tai in a worse mood if he'd learned that he was right.

Matt and Sora were currently sitting at Matt's kitchen table, laughing.

Yes, Matt's mother would have been just as pissed as Tai's had she discovered that Matt had been suspended for a week. But Matt lived with his father, and said father was still at work. So Matt was safe… for a little while anyway.

Sora had come over after school. They actually had had a study date planned for that afternoon.

Unfortunately, they weren't getting much studying done. Their math homework had quickly turned into a discussion about their math teacher.

"Well," said Sora after the laughter died down. "At least it shows that she used to be really pretty."

"Sora!" Matt exclaimed with somewhat false astonishment. "I never thought I'd hear you speak about someone so shallowly."

Sora almost blushed. "Well, what was I supposed to judge her on? She's evil on the inside."

They both started when the phone rang and Sora glanced up at the clock.

"Wow, it's pretty late… I should probably be getting home soon."

"Yeah…"

The two gave each other an awkward hug goodbye, the phone still ringing in the backgroud. They said their goodbyes, and then Matt moved at last to pick up the phone.

"Hello?"

"Matt?"

"TK. Actually, I wanted to talk to you."

"Good. I'll be there in a minute."

With no further words, his brother hung up the phone. Slowly, Matt laid the phone back in its cradle.

TK was true to his words. It wasn't much longer before he was knocking on the door to his father and brother's apartment. Despite all the years his parents had been divorced, it was still strange to go over his dad's house. When Matt opened the door, he walked in and sat a bit awkwardly at the table, unknowingly taking Sora's spot.

Matt sat down opposite him, "So, what's this I hear about you getting a girlfriend?"

Matt watched his brother squirm. "Oh… Miwa. You'll have to meet her sometime… she's really nice."

"Uh-huh…" said Matt, motioning to continue.

"And she's been after me to go out with her since we were both seven…" he muttered under his breath.

"So what is it? Did you finally cave?"

"What does that mean?" TK asked, sounding just a little defensive.

"Well, I always thought you had this thing for Kari."

TK looked down. There was a moment of silence.

"TK?" Matt prodded.

"Yeah, well, I'm sure everyone thought Tai and Sora were gonna end up and be our happily-ever-after couple too."

Matt's eyebrows raised. "TK… I explained what's going on… you know this isn't real."

"Yeah, well…. I'm not so sure anymore. And besides, Sora doesn't know what's going on, and she picked you, didn't she?"

Matt was silent. It was true, his plan could only have been foolproof if Sora had turned him down from the beginning, but that didn't mean he was just giving up on it.

"Maybe there aren't any garanteed happy endings," TK went on. "I mean, if Tai and Sora aren't going to end up together, what are the chanced Kari and I are?"

"TK," said Matt, slightly exasperated, and knowing that he wasn't exactly in the position to be giving out advice or pep talks. "You shouldn't worry about the what ifs… I mean… what's going on with Tai and Sora, has nothing to do with you and Kari. But I can say one thing… if you never make the attempt to get together, you and Kari never will be able to live happily ever after." Actually, having watched his parents' divorce, Matt wasn't so sure he believed in happily ever after. But he knew it was what TK needed to her. "If you love it… you should just go for it."

TK picked his head up, and Matt was surprised to see a mischevious grin. "Exactly," said his brother, getting up and making for the door. "You should probably take your own advice."

And with that, TK shut the door behind him.

**Review please!**

**I know that TK's actions probably aren't going to be received well, but you have to understand that he's only got his brother's best interests at heart… Wow, this is turning out a lot like the last one… well, TK and Kari's parts in the plot anyway.**

**I don't own Digimon. **

**Good news! ****J This update came much quicker than the last one! J**


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter Seven**

"I hate girls."

"Tai?" It was almost four in the morning. It wasn't the first time that Izzy's best friend had called him at such an ungodly hour, but usually these calls were derived from boredom. Rarely had Tai ever gotten to the point so quickly. And his words were so strange that Izzy figured he'd either still been half-asleep or he had guessed wrong. But then, who else would call him at 3:56 AM?

"That's what I've decided," Tai went on, clearly in a bit of a ranting mood. "I'm sick of it all. With their mood swings and their stubborness and-"

Izzy yawned, drowning out whatever else Tai apparently hated about the other half of their species. Really he wasn't too worried; Tai would get over this train of thought soon enough. But, he _was_ Tai's best friend. He supposed Tai at least deserved his support.

"What happened?" he asked, thinking What has Sora done now? But to his surprise Sora wasn't the one in the answer.

"Kari," Tai answered. "She snuck back in at three this morning. She'd been out with TK." Izzy had never heard such a scowl said behind the other boy's name. "I've never seen her so giggly," he grumbled, trailing off.

"So what? Your sister can't be happy just because you aren't?" To be honest, Izzy hadn't meant for it to come out so bluntly, but at the moment he didn't care. He was that tired.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Tai snapped.

"Nothing," Izzy sighed. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean it that way." But whatever way he had meant it wouldn't be revealed.

"Yeah, sure," Tai muttered sullenly. And with that, Izzy was hung up on.

Izzy sighed once more and hung up his own phone. However, he'd just turned to walk away a second later when the phone rang again. Against his better judgement he picked it up.

"Hello?"

"Izzy, I'm really sorry," Tai said all in a rush. "I really appreciate you listening and everything."

"That's fine-"

Tai cut him off, "I'm sorry about the way I've been acting lately, and-"

"Yeah, it's all fine. Go to bed, Tai." This time it was Izzy who hung up. Geez, talk about mood swings…

Again he turned to walk away and again the phone rang before he could take a step. Izzy snatched it off the hook.

"_What?_"

"Um, Izzy?"

Izzy let out a deep breath somehow not any less annoyed. It wasn't Tai.

"Um, Izzy?" his friend repeated. "Uh… it's Joe. I'm sorry for calling you so late, it's just, I've been thinking a lot, and I couldn't sleep-"

"Try harder."

…

Izzy couldn't suppress a yawn in his first period class the next day. Last night had been exhausting. His teacher gave him a disapproving glance, but he was still in the zone past caring at the moment.

Izzy rested his chin on his palm, letting his mind wander. He couldn't be bothered to focus on history right now. Who _cared_ when Liechtenstein separated from Germany? They were basically completely dependent on Switzerland now anyway…

…

_Izzy sat down hard as the older boy's friends laughed, standing behind him. Said boy was looking down on the computer geek with a cruel smile. Behind him his friend (or crony as Izzy preferred) was holding the smaller boy's laptop captive._

_It wasn't just Tai who had gained courage from their adventure in the digital world. Izzy had a better sense of who he was now. But this inner triumph had not stopped the incessant bullying once he'd returned to school. _

_Izzy winced and rubbed his lower back. There was talk of moving him up a grade, but nothing had come of such talk yet. The teachers said such an act would level him with peers of his own intelligence level. _

_Of course… doing so would put him in the same grade as the hooligan standing over him. Personally, Izzy felt he was already past that level. But being much smaller prevented him from saying this to the kid's face. _

"_Izzy? Hey!"_

"_Back off Kona."_

_Tai and Matt had arrived. Izzy smiled up at them gratefully as Tai helped him up and Matt and Kona stared each other down with matching scowls._

"_Get out of here, Kona," Tai snapped at last, breaking the standstill glare. Kona sneered and tossed Izzy's laptop carelessly back at him. Izzy scrambled to catch it. He missed, but Matt had been faster, snatching it out of the air before any real harm could come to it._

_Izzy blushed. "Thanks," he said, taking it back._

_Matt cracked a smile for the first time that afternoon. "Yeah. Don't worry about it."_

_Tai was staring after Kona and his buddies, brows furrowed. "We'll have to do something about him…"_

…

"Izzy!"

Izzy's head snapped up just as the teacher brought her hand down to smack his desk. If Izzy was still groggy before that woke him up.

His face slowly heated up as he stared up at his teacher who was no longer stern, but extremely pissed. All around him other students were snickering.

"Disgraceful behavior for my classroom!" she snapped, red in the face, and looking terribly offended. "Out! Get out!"

Izzy hurried out of his seat, stuffing all of his books back into his bag and scurrying out the door without another look back. It was only as he was well on his way down the hallway to the principal's office that Izzy slowed his steps and took the time to contemplate his dream.

He could remember the days when he'd looked up to both Matt and Tai. Never before had he had to chose sides whenever they argued. So why was it so important that Tai knew where he stood now? Was it because Matt had involved Sora in all this? That had been a well-known sore spot for a long time now.

There had been an incident just a year before where some kid had been mocking Sora's more tomboyish ways in the lunch room to his friends. Tai had beat the kid senseless.

As far as Izzy knew, Tai had never told Sora what that fight had really been about, but he figured it must have gotten out somehow because not long after Sora had begun to refine some of her rougher qualities. Surely such timing couldn't be a coincidence?

Izzy sighed and sat down on the bench outside the principal's office. To be completely honest, Matt's behavior through this entire ordeal hinted that all he wanted was peace. So, Izzy had to wonder, why was Matt stirring up all this trouble?

…

Tai and Sora couldn't have been in a more different separation. Gym had always been their mutual favorite class. It was a break from the monotony of regular classes. Even the yearly fitness exam didn't break them like it did some of the other enthusiastic students.

On the last day, the mile run around the school's track, Tai couldn't remember feeling better for some time. Running reminded him of the thrill he got during soccer, the season having just ended. He was on his last lap. Just ahead of him he could see Sora. Tai grinned. Before he knew what he was doing, he quickened his pace to catch up with her.

"What lap?" he asked conversationally.

"Last," she responded at once. "And I don't want to talk to you?"

"Why not?" Tai grinned. There was a small part of him that felt he was pushing his luck, and a bigger part of him that really didn't care.

She shot him a sharp look. "You know why."

"Tired?"

Her look got a hint of haughtiness to it. "Why would I be?"

"Well," Tai said in a mischeivous tone that Sora recognized. It made her heart flutter and speed up, not that she would ever tell him that. She attempted to push the feeling down to no avail. "I'm sure you haven't been working out as much since you quit soccer. After all… we all know that tennis is a soft sport."

"_Excuse me?" _

Normally, Sora would have pushed this insult further, but at that exact same moment the two noticed the finish line, just a few yards away. So instead of continuing their argument, Tai and Sora glanced at each other, again within the exact same moment. Wordlessly, the two began to sprint, racing each other to the finish.

Their feet pounding down on the track, the two crossed the line. It wasn't clear who'd passed first, but that was the source of their new argument as they stood hunched over, panting.

"Excellent times, both of you," their teacher said to them, smiling at their lighthearted banter.

Tai was enjoying the whole thing, until Sora caught her breath and said, "Well, good race, I guess."

"Where are you going?" Tai asked as Sora began to walk away.

She looked back. "Matt has a free period right now. He said he'd come down near the end. I'm going to go wait for him in the bleachers."

Tai's heart fell. He was struck with a sudden second-wind type of adrenaline. He'd lost Sora once because he hadn't had enough courage to make his move. Why should he make the same mistake twice?

"Sora…"

She turned around, ready to ask him what was wrong, but she didn't get the chance. The next thing she knew, Tai's lips were on her own. Sora's eyes widened. A gasp made it's way up her throat, but it came out as more of a moan as she gave in to the palpable passion behind Tai's kiss.

It was a strange feeling. Almost like there'd been something missing in her relationship with Matt all this time, but she hadn't truly realized this until now. It showed itself in the form of reckless abadon. She didn't care that she was currently in a relationship with someone else. She didn't care that they were surrounded by their classmates. There was nothing in the world that would convince her to break away from the one she had lusted after for so long until finally giving up.

Tai had taken her elbows in his hands, but Sora moved her arms to gently encircle his body. Finally, for oxygen purposes, the two were forced to tear apart from their embrace, panting as if they had run a second mile. Their cheeks were flushed, their eyes misty as they looked at each other, her pressed up against his chest.

"Hey, guys…"

The two quickly jumped apart looking guiltily at Matt, who was standing at the gate of the track, watching them. His voice wasn't angry like the two had expected; it was almost amused actually. Like a movie he was watching had ended exactly as he had expected.

"Matt!" Their voices rang out into the cold morning air in unison, both with an apology on their lips. They both paused and glanced at each other, their words dying away. Tai took a deep breath, knowing that he had taken the courageous leap once, it was his job to continue the pattern.

"Matt, I'm-"

"It's okay." Matt's voice was soft. He had a bit of a sad smile twitching in his features. "I'm happy for you guys. Seriously." He quickly turned, his hands in his pockets, and began to walk back up to the school.

Tai glanced at Sora, who had her head down, and then ran after his best friend, whose status as best friend was now in question. Something was ringing clear in his mind… All this time he'd been wondering how Matt could have done this to him… What had he done? How could _he_ have down this to Matt?

And something else had sunk in as well. He'd seen something in Matt's eyes right before he'd walked away….

"Matt!" Tai grabbed his best friend's shoulder, spinning him around. Matt smiled sheepishly at him, knowing he was caught. "Matt, I… I don't know what to say."

Matt took a deep breath. "I do. I'm sorry for all that I've put you through recently, Tai. And I want to be friends again…. if that's okay."

A smile broke out over Tai's face. "You jerk," he said, his voice wobbling with emotion. Tai folded his best friend into a brief hug. It still stood that he and Matt always got along best after the storm had passed.

"I couldn't pluck up the courage to ask Sora out, so you did, knowing perfectly well it would drive me crazy and I would fight to get her back…"

Put like that, Matt noticed, his plan seemed simple, but it had caused its fair share of heartbreak.

For now that his grand scheme had come to an end, he knew for certain… he really had been in love with Sora after all.

**Review please!**

**I toyed with the idea of this being the end, but then I got this awesome scene planned out for the next chapter so… I'm going to have to figure out a new ending. **

**Hope you liked it now that all has been revealed.**

**I don't own Digimon.**


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter Eight**

Tai cheered as Sora stepped forward to shake hands with her opponent. He'd never really watched a tennis match before, but it was clear to all how good Sora was. She returned the ball every time, showing off a kind of grace that Tai only ever remembered her having on the soccer field.

She hurried over to him after the match ended, cheeks flushed. "You came!" It came out as more of a squeal than she'd intended.

"'Course I did," he replied, beaming at her. "I told you I would, didn't I?"

His words challenged her to say otherwise, but in a playful way. They hadn't had such a relaxed conversation in ages.

"I wasn't sure actually…" she said demurely as they began to walk home. "I know how much you hate tennis."

"I don't hate it," he mumbled. While he wasn't about to say it aloud, he'd begun, in the last weeks, to associate tennis with a different Sora. Matt's Sora. Tai cleared his throat. "You're really good," he continued, not realizing until after he'd said it how badly he was failing to change the subject.

But if Sora noticed his awkwardness she didn't let on. Instead she just blushed. "Thanks. I've been practicing a lot," she said, as if she hadn't been showing off for him out there today.

They began walking towards home. The silence was just about to get awkward when Sora said, "Actually, I've been thinking that I really want to try out for soccer in the fall."

Tai's head snapped around to look at her. He was beaming. "That's awesome! We can do our conditioning together over the summer. After all this, it will be a nice change."

As he gestured to her tennis uniform Sora wasn't sure whether or not she should be offended. If there was one thing that set Tai and Matt apart it was that Matt had more of a knack for sensing the mood before he spoke. A second later Sora shook the mutinous thought from her head. He was just being Tai. The Tai that she'd fallen in love with and had been missing. Tai was honest. Tai never would've done what Matt had done to her and it wasn't because he didn't have the brains for such an operation.

"And what is that supposed to mean?" she responded in mock anger. "Tai Kamiya, if you think I can't still kick your ass on the soccer field just because I'm wearing a skirt, you're in for a rude awakening."

"Yeah?" If nothing else, Tai's competitive nature had been awakened. "We'll have to see about that."

Both were surprised to look up and see that they had already reached Tai's front door. "Uh… come in," he invited awkwardly, wondering for the first time whether it was unnecessary to do so.

Tai immediately headed for his room; they'd planned just to hang out that afternoon, nothing special. But Sora hesitated. She'd been in Tai's room hundreds of times and vice versa, but things were different now. Different in a good way, she reminded herself firmly, but these new feelings of awkwardness would take a while to get used to.

She leaned back casually against the wall, waiting for his return. And after a moment or so he did realize that she had not followed him. He stepped back out and was about to ask her what was wrong… but stopped himself. He took in the sight of her standing back against the wall, watching him, and was struck by how beautiful she was. He'd thought he'd come to this same realization years ago as they were led through the Digital World, but suddenly it was like he was seeing her through a fresh pair of eyes.

Silently, with a strange hesitance that contradicted his normal behavior, Tai moved to her. Closer now, he stared down into her eyes for a moment and she stared back, not daring to break the moment. Slowly, he brought his lips down to meet hers.

Their kiss was deep, and before he knew was he was doing, he'd pushed her lightly back against the wall. She didn't put her hands to his chest, either to explore _or_ push him away, but her fingertips did graze over the muscles in his back. There was no use in pretending anymore that she didn't want this just as much as he did.

Sora noticed something different between Tai and Matt almost immediately. While he may have had his reasons, Matt was not willing to get adventurous. Tai had no such qualms. After a few minutes of them just making out, Tai's hand began to travel up her thigh… It reached the edge of her skirt (which she'd just really begun to appreciate about now) and continued to climb-

The two jumped apart when they heard someone clear their throat behind them. Faces red, eyes still glazed from the heat of the moment, both were still able to feel the slightest bit of relief that they'd been caught only by Kari. For Sora this was quickly replaced by the embarrassment that accompanied being caught in the act at all.

"Other people do live in this house, you know," she reminded them, managing to sound a little annoyed, a little repulsed, and a little amused all at the same time.

"Yeah… I guess I'll, uh… see you tomorrow," Sora said awkwardly to Tai, her cheeks still flushed. She gave him a modest peck on the cheek then hurried out the door.

Tai watched her go. He stared at the empty doorway long after she was gone and didn't make any sign of acknowledgement when Kari disappeared into her room. His head was filled with a pleasant, dazed buzzing. He wasn't completely sure what had just happened, but he did know that, after that, he couldn't wait to see what tomorrow brought.

**Review please!**

**I'm sure this is the last thing on everyone's mind, but I'm apologizing now in case I royally messed up the tennis scene. I'm a fencer and a soccer player, but I don't know much about tennis…**

**Also, I'm sorry this is so short, but I wanted to get it out, and I have big things planned for the next chapter. (:**

**I don't own Digimon!**


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter Nine**

Sora was practically walking on air as she headed toward home. For some reason, everything just seemed… nicer. Humanity was kinder, the sun was warmer… yes, Spring was on its way, but Sora knew that wasn't it.

She let herself into the apartment she and her mother shared and found filled with a wonderful smell. Her mother was cooking something. As delicious as the scent was, it didn't stop Sora from realizing how strange that was. Her mother did not cook. Not for no reason anyway.

Which was why Sora wasn't _completely _surprised when she heard voices coming from the living room. One she recognized as her mother's; the other she didn't recognize at all. It was deep, a man's voice.

Sora's eyebrows furrowed. "Mom?" she called out, a tad bit hesitantly.

The conversation taking place in the other room immediately came to a halt. A moment later her mother came to the kitchen doorway.

"Sora! Welcome home." Her mother's voice was warm but just a little too cheery. Before Sora could respond a man came to stand in the doorway behind her mother, looking a little too used to the position for Sora's liking. He had dark hair and eyes and when Sora's mother smiled up at him Sora began to feel a little uneasy. "This is Yuuji."

Sora cleared her throat. "Mom… I think we should talk."

Her mother didn't seem to get the hint, but Yuuji did, disappearing back into the living room. Her mother's cheeks were flushed and Sora wondered if that was wine she could smell. Her mother did not drink. Mostly because she did not seem capable of holding her tongue when she did.

"Who is that?" She asked pointedly, nodding towards the living room where she was sure Yuuji was hanging onto their every word.

"I told you; that's Yuuji. He's a friend of mine that I've been seeing."

"A friend? You never said anything…" At least, Sora didn't remember anything. Had her mother been disappearing off to dates at night that she hadn't noticed, being so wrapped up in her own problems?

Her mother rolled her eyes and Sora involuntarily tensed. While it was hard to fully assess the just how bad situation was from here, her mother was certainly was not sober.

"Calm down, Sora," she said lightly. "Give me a break. I haven't seen anyone since your no-good father took off."

Sora stared at her, incredulous. "Dad _died_, Mom."

Her mother waved her hand dismissively. "Same difference." At the look on her face her mother's expression turned a bit sour. "Oh, calm down," she said again. "You hardly have any room to complain. It feels like every time you talk to me you have some new boy twisted around your finger."

Sora stiffened. This had swerved drastically from the usual you-never-talk-to-me-anymore wail. Sora took a step back at Yuuji reappeared, looking appropriately worried.

"I can't believe you just said that to me," she whispered.

Sora turned and ran right back out of her apartment. Her tears had begun to fall long before she was gone, but she doubted her mother would notice. Not with Yuuji there. Sora made it all the way to the park without stopping and headed into the woods, taking one of the paths at random. She didn't pass anyone on this particular trail. She didn't even realize where she was going until her tears finally ran out.

Sora had sat down on the edge of the pond in the middle of the woods. Matt had taken her here when they'd first started dating. Tears welled back up in her eyes. She didn't want to think of Matt. Not after her mother had just implied that she had become a total whore.

Sora didn't move until the sky began to darken. Then she laid back and watched as the first stars began to appear. It was pitch black when she heard a familiar voice calling her name.

"Sora? Sora!"

She sat up immediately. "I'm here!" she called, rising to greet him as Matt walked into view.

"Hey!" he said, rushing over to her. "Are you okay? Your mom called me. She said you ran off. What happened? She sounded awful."

Sora sighed. "It's a story I'd rather forget…"

Matt just looked at her for a moment then said, "That's fine. It's dark though. I'll walk you home, okay?"

"Sure. Thanks."

"No problem." She shivered and Matt gave her his coat. As they walked home, Sora couldn't help but notice how familiar this felt.

…

"Hey, Tai." Sora caught up to him in the hallway. "I waited outside your apartment this morning, but Kari said you'd already left. Hey, what's wrong?"

Tai looked around then leaned down and said quietly, "Do you wanna tell me what's going on between you and Matt?"

For a moment all Sora could do was stare at him. "What? Nothing's going on with me and Matt."

"No? Then why did I get swarmed by a group of girls this morning talking about how they'd caught you two walking out of the woods together late last night? What were you doing with him?"

"I wasn't doing anything with him. I got into a fight with my mother last night and stormed out, okay? Chill out, Tai. It's not like I chose him over you. _My mother _called him. I didn't even know he was coming until he showed up. We broke up, remember? That means it's over. You have nothing to worry about," she assured him, leaning up to kiss him.

He gently kissed her back. "Okay," he said softly. "I'm sorry for overreacting. I guess it was just too soon, you know?"

They smiled simultaneously and he took her hand, walking her to class.

But as Sora noticed later, that didn't seem to be the end of it. Whenever she saw Tai and Matt pass each other in the hallway they regarded each other with cold looks. She knew she should confront Tai. (_Everything's over, remember?_) But she said nothing. She just gripped Tai's hand tighter, waiting until Matt was out of sight.

…

But Sora needn't have worried. She didn't want to see the confrontation and when it happened, she wasn't there to witness it. Tai made sure of it.

School had just ended. One surprise came to the pair of them. As much as Tai had wanted to say something to Matt he wouldn't… for Sora's sake. She'd always hated to see them fight. And he'd expected Matt to think the same. So he wasn't expecting it when Matt cornered him as soon as the final bell rang.

"Matt."

"Tai." Tai's voice had been surprised; Matt's was just cold.

"What-"

"We need to talk."

After a moment, Tai nodded. He didn't say a word but followed Matt through the school until it was nearly empty. They stopped in the empty cafeteria. Matt turned on the spot so he was looking Tai in the eyes.

"Is there a problem?" he asked in a low voice.

"Excuse me?" Tai asked, mimicking his tone.

"Well, I'm assuming there's a reason you've been glaring at me all day."

Tai almost smiled. "Don't give me that crap. You're in no position to play dumb."

"And after all I've done for you recently, you're hardly in any position to be such an ass," Matt shot back, his anger rising. But not as fast as Tai's.

"You think you're such a fucking martyr, don't you? Well here's a news flash, you jackass. Nothing you did counts if you're going to go back and try to undo all your work after!"

Matt glared. He wanted so badly to hit Tai. But he managed to refrain himself. "Just remember this, Tai. I may have been leading her on for you… but that doesn't mean I didn't really love her. And she didn't know the plan when she agreed to date me." Matt turned on his heel and left Tai before he did something he would regret.

…

Sora was laying on a bench outside the school, her eyes closed, soaking up the sunlight. She had a tennis match today, but not for another hour or so. Until then she was just hanging out at the school. She opened her eyes when she heard footsteps. She smiled when she saw it was Tai. He reached her and bent down as she reached up ever so slightly and kissed him. Then she moved over so he could sit down as well.

"What's up?" she asked because, as happy as he looked to see her, something appeared to be troubling him as well.

He just smiled down at her, the moment looking only a little bittersweet. "Do you remember when we were kids and we'd walk down to all our soccer games together because our moms wouldn't let us walk there alone?"

Sora smiled and nodded. "But we were always okay just as long as we were together… Remember when we caught that stray cat and tried to hide it under your bed because your mom wouldn't let you keep it."

Tai laughed. "Oh yeah… and when she found it, she let Kari and me get one to keep. We were in so much trouble… Remember when we all went out to eat, and I dared you to go into the boys' bathroom and you got caught?"

Sora rolled her eyes. "How could I ever forget? My mom freaked and bought me about a dozen dresses afterward. She even made me _wear_ some of them."

"How awful," Tai teased.

"Well, it wasn't awful for you!"

"It wasn't," he agreed. He smirked playfully. "I knew you'd never tell on me. You were such a chicken back then."

"You jerk!" she laughed. "I didn't tell out of the goodness of my heart." There was a pause, and then she continued their little game of 'member when'. "Do you remember when we went running on those forest paths? And we decided to make our own path and I twisted my ankle."

"How could I ever forget?" Tai mimed. "I had to carry you up that huge hill."

A thought struck Sora. All this time she'd thought their adventure had begun in the Digital World. She couldn't believe it had taken her this long to realize that _they _had started long before that. "I was so afraid you were going to drop me," she replied, laughing.

Tai gave her a serious look. "You were depending on me. I'll never drop you," he told her. "I promise."

**Review please!**

**I don't own Digimon!**

**And you can all thank dault3883 for PMing me and giving me the little push I needed to get going and finally finish this chapter. I actually planned to have it up earlier, but I didn't factor in all the family gatherings for Easter…**


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter Ten**

Sora was still smiling when she let herself into her house. No sooner had she sat down on her bed, Sora heard her mother calling from her their living room. She stood and took a deep breath, pausing at her doorway before walking out. She'd been dreading this conversation, but she knew it was inevitable.

"Yes, Mom?" she asked, trying to keep the grimace off her face as she stood far too awkwardly considering she was in her own house.

"Sora, sit down please."

She did as she was told, choosing to perch on the couch across from the chair her mother was sitting on. "What's up?" She tried to keep her voice casual, but she suspected that her mother could sense the dread. She wondered if she was imagining the matching expression on her mother's face.

"I wanted to tell how very, very sorry I am about my actions, and more importantly, my words yesterday."

"It's fi-"

"It's not fine." Her mother wasn't letting her interrupt; she wasn't done."It was an awful thing to say, whatever my intentions were. But the thing I wanted to talk to you about today was that I _did _have good intentions. I saw how much you changed over the course of dating and breaking it off with Matt, and then how quickly you got together with Tai… Honey, I just… don't want you to seriously get messed up over some boy."

Sora was quiet for a full minute, until she was certain that her mother was finished. "Mom," she said at last. "I know I've done some things lately that… have looked a little… questionable, but… please, trust me. I feel like I'm finally putting my life back together. I feel like everything is starting to be right again… does that make sense?"

Her mother opened her mouth then closed it, reconsidering. Her eyebrows were furrowed, like she was worried that Sora hadn't really gotten the point at all, but at that moment Sora was startled by a single beep.

"So, are we done?" she asked cheerfully, rising from her seat and nearly flouncing from the room before her mother could get in another word.

Once back in her safe haven, Sora quickly slid her digivice out from under her comforter on her bed. Soon after returning from the Digital World, Izzy had gotten ahold of all their digivices and managed to install a sort of text-messaging system into them, just in case they ever needed to get in touch with one another.

Her newest message was from Tai.

_Hey, U busy?_

She smiled and sent back, **No… Y?**

_I have a date in mind._

**Shud I dress up or will we b real ppl?**

_Real ppl. Meet me the subway station?_

**B ther soon.**

Sora quickly changed out of her school uniform into more comfortable clothing the second the message had been sent. Perhaps it didn't exactly enforce her point to go running off like some love-crazed school girl so soon, but at the moment she didn't care. It was strange how her connected her perception of the weather was to her mood. Today was beautiful again.

The air seemed to be pushing her along to get to the station more quickly than usual. She didn't fight the idea. Sora could easily pick Tai out of the crowd when she arrived. He beamed and waved at her with one hand, and she could see that the other was holding a large basket.

"I already got our tickets," were the first words out of his mouth once she was closer.

"Not even a hello?" she asked, but he was already leaning down to kiss her. "Where are we going?" she asked when they parted.

"You'll see," he told her, still smiling as they boarded.

They managed to get seats and once they began moving Sora tried another question. "Okay, so what's in the basket?"

He slid it over to her and she lifted the top. Inside was a picnic. Sora found sandwiches and riceballs and the juice boxes that their parents had used to bring to their soccer games so many years ago. It was very complete and well thought out… Sora was betting that Kari had packed it for them.

Sora watched the familiar scenery pass by. Every time they stopped, she looked at Tai expectantly, but he never made to move. And he didn't, until the very last stop on the route. Sora was surprised when he rose, and for a moment she could do nothing more than sit there looking up at him, confused, because she'd never really planned on coming back.

As they climbed the steps leading to the entrance of their old summer camp, Sora looked around. From here, it didn't look like it had changed all that much since the last time she'd walked up these steps, but this time the place held a whole new meaning for her.

"Is it even open to the public?" she asked.

"I don't know," said Tai, carelessly throwing the basket over and then scaling the gates with ease. Sora quickly followed and the two walked further into the camp until they reached the green in the middle of all the cabins. Here, Tai stopped and set out their picnic.

"This is nice," Sora murmured, kneeling down beside him on the grass.

Tai smiled and nodded. "Yeah. I figured we should go back and visit the place where it all began at least once."

"It wasn't though…" said Sora musingly, her mind skimming over all the varied memories of the two of them playing or kicking a soccer ball around as children.

"It was for me," said Tai quietly. "Before the Digital World, I never saw you as anything more than my best friend."

Sora took a deep breath and stood abruptly, startling her boyfriend. "Tai, there are some things that I need to get off my chest…"

She took his silence as encouragement.

"My life has taken a lot of crazy turns lately… and while I know that some of them were out of my control, I also know that some of them were my fault. Tai," she said suddenly, "you know that messaging system Izzy installed in our digivices? Well, it's just been adding to this feeling I've had ever since we got back."

"What do you mean, Sora?"

She turned back to face him. On his face was an expression that made it look like he was both following her, and utterly confused, which she figured was only possible on Tai's face.

"I guess it was the whole… only having contact with each other. In everybody else's minds, it was like it was set into stone that you guys would always be my closest friends, no matter what, and it was guaranteed that the two of us would end up together and live happily ever after. I started to feel… trapped."

Sora knew her features had bunched into an almost desperate look by the way Tai was staring at her.

"So I started trying to branch out a little… I just… needed to _know_, you know? I quit soccer and joined tennis. When Matt asked me out… I accepted. But I found that things just didn't feel right," she continued in a rush. "My tennis friends were cool, but the more I pulled away from you guys, the more I missed you. And Matt… wasn't you," she said simply, blushing a little.

It was sort of embarrassing to own up to, but it made Tai smile, so she didn't dwell on that.

"I guess… what I'm trying to say is… I threw it all away just to discover that the life I already had was the one that I really wanted. I was just lucky enough that you were all willing to take me back," she said, sitting down again and taking one of his hands in both of hers. "Because this _is_ what I want," she said earnestly. "All of the other digidestined, and you especially Tai, taught me who I am. And I love you."

He'd been on her mind so much recently, she was surprised to realize that this was the first time she'd said the words. When he could see that she was done, Tai smiled, leaned his head in closer so their foreheads were touching, and covered her hands with his other one.

"I never would have stopped waiting for you," he promised, and she believed him full-heartedly.

For as long as Sora could remember, she'd loved boys, but not for the reasons Mimi was always gushing about. In general, they were driven; they tended to take criticism almost as well as compliments. She knew a lot had gone down in the past few days, and Matt and Tai had said some awful things to each other, so it was refreshing knowing they would get over it.

The days would pass, and their group would slowly drift back together, to fill in the chasm she'd created in trying to get away. Matt and Tai would be best friends again. The days would pass, and she wasn't afraid of that anymore. Because she knew now that Tai would be right there beside her to see them go.

**Review please!**

**And yes, that is the end. Ugh, I'm horible about cheesy endings… Sorry.**

**I know for some of you it won't seem finished, but I had to cut it off somewhere. The main unfinished thing I can think of is with Matt… Yes, he did fall in love with Sora. Yes, this may make things a little awkward in the future. But, what can I say? His life will work out. Not everyone gets a happy ending by the end of the story…**

**Last but certainly not least, I would like to thank everyone from the bottom of my heart who has read, reviewed, and supported my story. Seriously, you guys are awesome. I do have another Digimon story planned, but I don't know when it'll get put up. I need to get around to updating (and hopefully finishing) some of my other stories, plus I've started a new joint-project Kingdom Hearts story with duckielover151. As we've split the writing fairly equally, that's taking up a lot of my time too… It's on her account if anyone's interested.**

**Thanks again so much, and I hope to hear from you guys in the future! (:**


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